Detroit: Downtown Louie’s Lounge

You ever heard that saying “I really wanted to like this place, but….” That’s my take on this place. The inside was quaint and cozy.  The staff, friendly.  But, the food had a spin to their food that maybe my SoCal palate isn’t used to the MidWestern way of cooking.

 

So first, we tried to get the hockey game on tv. Fail. They don’t have a sports package. No problem, it happens (then I realized my hotel was near Hockeytown Cafe.. duh!). We ordered some drinks. The 4 stars is for the prices.. amazingly reasonable, almost cheap compared to SoCal prices. $4 for a beer! Score!

Then we order. Stephen wanted the Hungarian Stuffed Peppers. The server talked him OUT of ordering it, so he chose the Albanian salad. The menu said vinaigrette dressing, nothing about Balsamic Vinegar, which is quite a difference. He didn’t like the salad because it was too sweet, but didn’t want to send it back. I made him send it back and he chose the steak tip appetizer, which he did like.

I ordered the linguine with shrimp (no calamari). The shrimp were indeed jumbo but no flavor. The linguine was covered in some sort of flakes, maybe italian herbs? Whatever it was, it did not enhance it. The portion wasn’t very hearty so I ordered a side of wings. The server said 10 wings, either barbecue or buffalo style. I asked if I can get 1/2 and 1/2? Apparently that got lost in translation because I didn’t get 5 buffalo and 5 barbecue.. they actually mixed BOTH sauces together. I bit into one, and said oh its bbq… then the heat grew and I said no, its buffalo. It actually worked, but it wasn’t what I wanted.

Karen had the Mac n Cheese with a side of chicken. The chicken breast was hacked into 3 big pieces and plopped on top of the noodles. You’d think the chef could have made the pieces bite size or thinner slices, as she had to cut the chicken on top of an awkward bowl of noodles. 

It was just a weird experience. Not sure if I’d go out of my way to recommend this place, but its literally on the other side of the Aloft Hotel. Cute place, but just ok.